Marxism in America

According to Gallop, 84 percent of Americans think the country is going in the wrong direction. That's because the direction we're going in is Marxism, and we've been going there for 100 years.

In the Communist Manifesto, Marx identified 10 steps to Marxism:

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. We're well on the way. All over the country, property rights are under siege. The Kelo decision is just one of many significant recent leaps in direction of Marxism.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. Check, and Obama plans to make it worse.

3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. We're well on the way, and Obama plans to make it worse.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. We're not close to this one, thank goodness, but what happens to property owned by people we deport?

5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly. Check. This has been basically accomplisted, starting with the creation of the Federal Reserve and ending with the Bush/Paulson/Bernanke/Dodd/Frank so-called bailout.

6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. Not close, but the Fairness Doctrine supported by Democrats will make it much closer, and control of the railroads is about to expand into control of the automakers. The government has a monopoly on roads. Maybe this is closer than I originally thought.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. We've resisted this one, but see the new level of control government is taking of the auto industry and soil improvement is right around the corner.

8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. We've gotten away from this one, fortunately, but Obama is going to make this worse by replacing secret ballot with card check is designed to advance this step.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country. Nope. I see no evidence of government pushing in this direction. In fact, agricultural subsidies are designed to shut down small farms and push those people into cities where they can be better controlled. I think Marx was just wrong when he thought spreading the people out helped Marxism. Getting them localized seems a better way to me.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, &c., &c. Check, and Obama is going to make it worse.

Socialized medicine is the 11th step, and arguably the most powerful of them all. Marx just hadn't thought of it in his day. We're 60 percent of the way there, which is why our system is breaking down, and Obama is going to make it worse.

We're definitely going in the wrong direction. We need freedom, not Marxism.